ABOUT THE year 1750 there was a public house at Wapping which bore a curious signboard. On one side of the sign was painted the figure of a jolly British tar while on the other was the figure of a valiant marine. Underneath was the legend: "The Widow in Masquerade, or the Female Warrior." It was one of the many coffeehouses and taverns on that long street in London, which extended from Lower East Smithfield on the north bank of the Thames to New Crane. The street was then, as now, noted for its nautical signs, its ship and boatbuilders, rope-makers, ship-chandlers, and sail-makers. The street gave its name to that narrow strip of old London which lies below the Tower and between London docks and the river. Pirates and sea rovers were hanged at Execution Dock in Wapping during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The proprietor of "The Widow in Masquerade" was Hannah Snell, an outpensioner of Chelsea Hospital, who had retired from active service because of the wounds she had received at the siege of Pondicherry. Her pension of £30 per annum being insufficient for her needs, the enterprising woman opened a public house which was well patronized because of the extraordinary history of its owner.
Hannah Snell was born in Fryer Street, Worcester, on April 23, 1723. Her grandfather was a soldier who served under William III and Queen Anne, and who terminated his military career at Malplaquet, where he received a mortal wound. Her father was a hosier and dyer. In 1740, Hannah, having lost both parents, went to London, where she for some time resided with a married sister, the wife of Gray, a carpenter in Ship Street, Wapping. It was here that Hannah became acquainted with James Summs, a Dutch seaman. They were married early in 1743. The Dutchman led a profligate life, squandered the little property which his wife possessed, and having contracted many debts, deserted her. Soon after this their child, a girl, was born. The child died at the age of seven months.
For some time Hannah continued to reside with her sister, but soon resolved to set out in search of the man, whom, notwithstanding his ill-usage, she still continued to love. In order to carry out this strange quest more safely, she donned a suit of clothes belonging to her brother-in- law, and assuming his name, James Gray, left London on November 23, 1745. Having traveled to Coventry, and being unable to find any trace of her husband's whereabouts, on the 27th of the same month she enlisted in General Guise's regiment, in the company of a Captain Miller. She remained in Coventry for about three weeks. The north then being the seat of war, and her regiment being at Carlisle, she left Coventry with seventeen other recruits and joined the regiment after a march of three weeks, which she performed with as much ease as any of her comrades.
At Carlisle she was instructed in military exercises, which she was soon able to perform with skill and dexterity. She had not been long at Carlisle when a comrade named Davis applied to Hannah to assist him in an intrigue; she appeared to be willing to help him in his plan, but disclosed the plot to the intended victim, a Young woman. By this conduct she gained the latter's confidence and esteem; they frequently met, which excited the jealousy of Davis, and prompted revenge. He accordingly seized an opportunity of charging his supposed rival with neglect of duty. The commanding officer sentenced Hannah to receive 600 lashes. Five hundred were inflicted, but the remaining 100 were remitted through the intercession of some of the officers.
Not long after this unhappy occurrence, a new recruit, a native of Worcester, and a carpenter, who had lodged at the house of her brother-in-law, joined the company. Hannah, fearing the discovery of her sex, resolved to desert. Her girl friend endeavored to dissuade her from such a dangerous act; but finding Hannah determined, the girl furnished her with money, and Hannah started on foot intending to go to Portsmouth. About a mile from Carlisle, she passed some men in a field who were picking peas. Their clothes were some distance away and Hannah took this opportunity to exchange her regimental coat for an old one which would not be so conspicuous. Continuing her journey, Hannah contrived, by her attentions to a landlady at Liverpool and a young mantua-maker at Chester, to obtain some money; but in an intrigue with a widow at Winchester our gallant was less successful, the widow rifling her pockets and leaving her with but a few shillings to finish her journey on foot.
On her arrival at Portsmouth, Hannah enlisted as a marine in Colonel Fraser's regiment. Three weeks later the regiment was drafted for service in the East Indies. The lady marine was assigned to the Swallow, a sloop in Admiral Boscawen's squadron. She soon distinguished herself on board by her excellence in washing, mending, and cooking for her messmates, and became a favorite with the crew of the sloop. She was regarded as a boy, and her station in case of action was on the quarter-deck to fight off boarders. She stood watches and went aloft when necessary. In a gale, the Swallow was badly damaged and began to take water. Hannah then took her turn at the pumps. She performed all her duties well and was considered to be above the average marine or sailor on a first cruise.
Before reaching the Cape of Good Hope, the crew were on short rations with but a pint of water a day. The next port was Fort St. David, on the coast of Coromandel. Here the marines were disembarked and after a three weeks' march arrived at Aria-Coupon where an English army was besieging that place. The army intended to take the place by storm when re-enforcements came up but a lucky shot destroyed the enemy's magazine and forced the besieged to abandon their position. This adventure gave Hannah fresh spirits, and her excellent behavior under fire gained for her the commendation of all the officers.
The army now proceeded to Pondicherry, and after lying before that place for eleven weeks, and suffering great hardships, they were obliged to abandon the siege because of the rainy season. Hannah was the first in the party of English foot who forded the river, breast-high, under an incessant fire from a French battery. At another time she was with the picket guard for seven successive nights and had fourteen days of trench digging. She fired 37 rounds during the engagement and was wounded twelve times, six times in her right leg, five in her left, and, what was still more painful, a dangerous wound in the lower part of her body, which she feared might lead the surgeons to discover her disguise. She, however, intrusted her secret to a negress who attended her, and who brought her lint and salve. After most acute suffering she extracted the ball with her finger and thumb, and soon after the wound began to heal.
Meanwhile the greater part of the fleet had sailed and Hannah was assigned to duty as a seaman on board the Tartar, pink, where she remained until the fleet returned from Madras. She was again transferred to the Eltham, man-of-war, and sailed with that ship to Bombay. The ship, being in need of repairs, was overhauled at Bombay for five weeks. During this period Hannah gained the displeasure of a lieutenant because she would not sing. Soon afterwards she was charged with stealing a shirt belonging to a shipmate and was put in irons. After five days she was taken to the gangway where she received twelve lashes and then was sent to the masthead for four hours. About this time the sailors began to call her "Molly" because she had no beard. In alarm she at once joined in the wildest dissipations and proved herself a man and was afterwards called "Hearty Jemmy."
On the homeward bound voyage, her ship put into Lisbon. Here Hannah met an English sailor who had been to Genoa in a Dutch vessel in which she believed her husband had sailed. She took the opportunity to check on his whereabouts and found that he had murdered a person of some consequence in Genoa for which he had been sewed in a sack, weighted with stones, and thrown into the sea. Hannah concealed her emotions although the news was far from what she expected to hear.
Arriving safely at Spithead, Hannah met, at Portsmouth, the girl friend for whose sake she had been whipped at Carlisle. The girl would have been glad to marry the dashing young marine but Hannah decided to hurry on to London, where she was received with great joy by her sister. After her ship was paid off, Hannah revealed her sex and many of her shipmates offered to marry her, but the widow declined all offers.
The strange story of the masquerading marine soon reached the newspapers and she became a popular idol. As she possessed a good voice, she was engaged to appear at the Royalty Theatre, in Wellclose Square, where she appeared in the character of Bill Bobstay, a sailor, and also took the part of Firelock, a military character, and in a masterly and correct manner went through the manual of arms and platoon exercises of the period. Her stage career was brief and she soon applied for a pension. She preferred male dress and wore it during the remainder of her life. She usually wore a laced hat and cockade, and a sword and ruffles. Her portrait was painted by the artists of her time.
After keeping her public house in Wapping for a number of years, Hannah married Eyles, a carpenter, of Newbury, Berkshire. They had a son with whom Hannah lived in her later years. While living at his house in Church Street, Stoke Newington, Hannah showed symptoms of insanity, and was admitted as a patient at Bethlem Hospital, Moorfields, where she died on February 8, 1792.
*Transposed with some additions from English Eccentrics and ¢ricities, by John Timbs, London, 1866.